J.P. Watson

Even though at one point during his college studies Watson was poised to pursue medicine, he decided that education was what he really wanted to do.

"I was in my second year at medical school when I questioned if I had the passion for it," Watson said.

He took a leave of absence from medical school to teach math at an independent high school in his hometown of South Burlington, Vt., and never looked back. He set a goal of eventually becoming the headmaster of an independent school.

"I knew I had found what I wanted to do. I would not have been this passionate about medicine," Watson said.

He later took at job at Hammond School in South Carolina where Headmaster Herb Barks took him under his wing to help him develop his administrative credentials.

Watson came to Athens Academy in 2004 as upper school director and was named associate headmaster last year. His enthusiasm and work at Athens Academy most recently earned him recognition from the Rotary Club of Oconee County, which presented him with the 2008-09 W. Lee Arrendale Award for Vocational Excellence. The honor recognizes "the importance of service of an individual to society through excellence in one's vocation."

The chance to interact with students of all ages, with parents, faculty and members of the community on a daily basis is fun and rewarding, Watson said.

About J.P. Watson

• Age: 36

• Profession/place of work: Athens Academy, associate headmaster

• College: Middlebury College, bachelor's degree in biology, minor in literature; University of South Carolina, master's in biomedical science; Vanderbilt University's Peabody College of Education and Human Development; summer Fellow in independent school leadership

• First paying job: Camp counselor at a family-owned and run day camp that has been operating since 1952 in Central Vermont

• Community involvement: Oconee County Chamber of Commerce, chairman of education committee, member of board of directors; Rotary Club of Oconee County, 2008-09 director of service, 2009-10 vice president, member since July 2007; LEAD Athens, member of 2005-06 cohort